So, I’ve got this giant Madonna magnet on my fridge. Recently a friend stopped by and, upon noticing it, exclaimed “Oh, you like Madonna? Cool!” I was fucking flabbergasted. Is not liking Madonna even an option?
As it turns out, a passive backlash has been quietly taking place over the last several years (or perhaps decades). Legend status sometimes comes with a price. For the most influential pop and dance music artist ever, a three decade career of constant reinvention and forays into virtually every platform of media possible has created a sort of cultural exhaustion: Madonna Fatigue. Her omnipresence and sheer volume of work has overwhelmed the senses of popular culture, resulting in a growing collective ambivalence towards the Queen of Pop.
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Now, after so many years in the spotlight, we might be inclined to take Madonna for granted. Madonna is just… Madonna. She’s the woman who did “Like a Virgin” and “Vogue.” She ruled the 80s and 90s. Sure, yeah, she’s awesome but… yawn. Madonna’s legacy is in danger of becoming grossly under-celebrated.
I get it, kinda. But that doesn’t mean I can just stand by and let it continue. After all, this is the same woman who had the balls to record an album and then be like, “just call it Music.” Much of today’s dance music can trace its roots to artists like Madonna and even if pure pop is your thing, why waste your time on Lady Gaga’s methadone when you can go straight for the pure shit? This calls for a revisiting of some of her lesser-known strokes of brilliance. Start here:
Burning Up, 1983 Express Yourself, 1989 Metropolis Deeper and Deeper, 1992 Secret, 1994 Bedtime Story, 1995 Get Together, 2006 Confessions on a Dance Floor
